Elvira Hill
NOTE: This page is not free to edit. Characters are solely owned by ScottyBlue (dA name Ascotia-Bluefleck. Also, Spoilers below.) Elvira Rachel Hill, nee Radburn, was a wealthy heiress and the only such person for many miles in the mostly poverty-stricken North Carolinian mountain area in which she lived. She had been sent away to London for an expensive education by her parents, and considered herself a fine lady and a cut above all the rural 'hicks' she lived around. However, she was condescendingly gracious to most, even unbending so far as to agree to marry the son of a local farmer who was doing a little better for himself than most of the others, just so the family bloodline would continue. Her husband died of a stroke at a fairly young age, leaving her to raise their three children Jeremiah, Cletus, and Bess. Not content with her position in life, and wanting to achieve more status vicariously through her children, Elvira ordered her children to marry only 'suitable' people, and sent Bess away to a fine girls' finishing school in Boston, and her sons to the University of North Carolina, to better themselves and hopefully meet this goal. Much to her chagrin, Bess rebelled and left within one semester, eloping with Olin Stewart, a farm boy from home she'd already given her heart to. By the time Elvira figured out what Bess and Olin had done, they had already had a son, Rodger Stewart. Elvira begrudgingly accepted the inevitable, and invited them to live with her until they found a place of their own. Jeremiah also disappointed her when he married the college Librarian's daughter Reba. The youngest son, Cletus, returned single and started courting a young widow back home. However, Elvira put her foot down on Cletus' romance, forbidding it absolutely, as the widow Brenda Gilbert was (wrongly) suspected of having killed her first husband. Elvira also tried to bully Jeremiah into letting her raise his children Frankie and Ruthanne for him when Reba died giving birth to Frankie, but Jeremiah, having had enough of his bossy mother, refused utterly. Jeremiah, Cletus, and Olin all joined up and fought in World War I, and Elvira took it upon herself to take care of Olin and Jeremiah's families while they were away even though Bess was planning to take in Frankie and Ruthanne with her. Olin was the only one to come back unscathed - Jeremiah was killed, and Cletus was captured, tortured, and came back severely mentally scarred from the ordeal. Elvira, being wealthy and influential, made absolutely certain that she had sole custody of Jeremiah's children to prevent the 'backward' Bess and Olin from raising them, creating a family rift. Cletus finally rebelled and secretly married Brenda Gilbert, and Elvira initially forbade him the house. However, realizing she was alone raising two small children in her 60s and might need help, she finally came down off her high horse and tried to make some amends. However, the damage was done and the relationships were never fully repaired, so she gave up the one attempt at humility. Frankie disappointed her as well by becoming the laughingstock of the town and being branded a liar for testifying about a murder he witnessed, which no one could prove. Because Frankie never let it go, even into his late teens, Elvira finally told him he had two options - stop making the family name be attached to ridicule and admit he lied, or be disinherited. Frankie, who was scrupulously honest, took the latter option, leaving for Raleigh at once. Ruthanne planned to leave with him, but Elvira forced her to go to the same school as Bess had gone to, with the same threat she had made to Frankie. Ruthanne wanted the money only to give Frankie his fair share once she inherited, so she gave in. However, Elvira shortly lost all her money in the great crash of 1929, leaving both grandchildren penniless, and dying herself a penniless and bitter old woman. Category:In Memory of Frankie Hill Characters